Broomfield Academy to add eighth grade

MIDDLE SCHOOL EXPANDING: Broomfield Academy seventh-grader Sneha Varanasi looks for an answer to a question during a literature class discussion of the book The Devil s Arithmetic on Thursday. Broomfield Academy, which this year added seventh grade, next year will add eighth grade.
(
David R. Jennings
)

If you go

What: Broomfield Academy open house for all grades, including the new eighth grade expansion

When: 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Wednesday and Feb. 6

Where: Broomfield Academy, 7203 W. 120th Ave.

More info: RSVP to 303-469-6449 or call to arrange a private tour. To learn more about the school, visit broomfieldacademy.com.

Hoping to expand its middle school education and make the transition to high school smoother, Broomfield Academy will add eighth grade classes next year.

Broomfield Academy, a private school that serves preschool, elementary and middle school students, will host an open house Wednesday for families interested in learning more about middle school offerings.

The school's eighth-grade expansion comes after the school this year added seventh grade. Principal Pat Garner said the school needs to add eighth grade to help students get a more well-rounded education before heading to high school. If they can stay at Broomfield Academy for eighth grade instead of going to another school to finish out their middle school years, they can get continued support from teachers, instead of starting over in a new environment, she said.

"Middle school is the time when children need more social and emotional support, and it's really a transition time," she said.

The school plans to keep class sizes small, and Garner expects there to be fewer than 15 children in next year's eighth grade class. Broomfield Academy already has two eighth grade students who use individual learning plans.

Broomfield Academy added a seventh grade this school year. The school's seventh grade class has just five students, which Garner said makes it easier for teachers to individualize learning plans and adjust workloads to challenge students based on their needs.

Most of those students are expected to take eighth grade classes next year, including 11-year-old Sneha Varanasi.

Sneha's mother, Simi, said her daughter is thriving at Broomfield Academy — so much that she wishes the school offered high school grades, too.

Varanasi is happy her daughter is reading challenging material, such as George Orwell's "Animal Farm" and learning math at an eighth-grade level.

"It's been a great fit for us," Varanasi said. "The individual attention is great, and the teachers know all the students. The kids don't get lost."

Thursday morning, the small group of seventh-grade students worked with language arts teacher Davis Turner to discuss characters in "The Devil's Arithmetic," a book about a young Jewish girl who is transported back in time to a concentration camp during the Holocaust.

When the students move to eighth grade, they'll keep the close-knit, one-on-one discussions with their teacher, but they'll also have access to more elective classes. They also can take part in a new mentorship program, which would help students get insight into careers.

Garner said eighth-graders, or any other interested student, could shadow at a community business or organization to get a feel for what the working world is like.

"I feel that you shouldn't have to wait until college to find out more about what you're interested in," she said.

Students also use plenty of new technology to explore their interests and research their assignments. Michael Greenberg, the school's director of operations, said most students use a SMART Board interactive whiteboards to immerse themselves in multi-media lectures, making a lesson about the Civil War feel real.

Greenberg said middle school students seem especially excited to get tech-savvy in the classroom.

"Watching online content with graphics and music is an exciting way to learn," he said. "And the parents are happy that their children are excelling without a lot of distractions."

Beginning in fifth grade, children use laptops for some of their assignments, and Garner said they will be integrated into eighth grade lessons, such as following the ups and downs of the stock market.

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